European education and social cohesion: which way forward?

Conference of Europeanists
didacgp@gmail.com
www.gutierrezperis.eu

Sciences Po Paris 2015

European education and social cohesion1

(oral presentation paper presented the 9th July 2015)
Starting point:
Two main academic approaches in the literature for crisis of legitimacy :
-Politicisation of European public sphere (Hurrelman, Simon Hix)
-Alternative demos (regional demos, demoi of Nicolaidis...)
The paper is largely to be understood as part of the debate about a third approach:
-sociological construction of Europe, which is an approach much more long-term and complex.
(in tune with the plenary tomorrow about cosmopolitan Europe, its not a coincidence that the
paper quotes a lot Soysal)
Sociological patterns there are two main tools:
-media (the way we perceive our own framework of understanding)
-education (in line with theories of political construction, such as the liberal-civic approach by
Victor Hugo or Jules Ferry in late 1880s)
tat des lieux state of the art regarding the utilisation of educational policy by European
institutions and European member states regarding the construction of civic competences and
civic affiliation with European polity.
First Part
The first part of this paper is devoted to explain the progressive involvement of the European
Union in educational policy.
Education : first and foremost a national competence of each member state of the European
Union. Maastricht Treaty, signed in 1992. This Treaty included a new article, numbered 126 at
that time, stating the following:
[t]he Community shall contribute to the development of quality education by
encouraging co-operation between Member States
Revisited the Maastricht Treaty three times in 1997, Treaty of Amsterdam, the second time in
2001, with the Treaty of Nice, and most recently with the Treaty of Lisbon, in 2007. All those
treaties have incorporated new competences in a vast number of domains, but the European
prerogatives in the field of education have remained unchanged.
Good example of functionalism
1976 non-binding resolution including
i)
educating the children of migrant workers
ii)
the compilation of documentation and statistics
iii)
the teaching of foreign languages
The 1980s and 1990s marked the beginning of an increasing proactive approach by European
institutions in terms of educational involvement. Some programmes of transnational cooperation
began to have perceptible implications for a larger number of citizens.
i)
Erasmus programme. Between 1988 and 2011 the most recent year with official
statistics - the total number of citizens that have benefitted from the Erasmus
1

DRAFT VERSION, yet to be published.

GUTIRREZ-PERIS, Ddac (2015), European education and social cohesion: which way forward?, Conference draft
paper presented at CES Conference, 7-11th of July, Paris 2015.

European education and social cohesion: which way forward?

Conference of Europeanists
didacgp@gmail.com
www.gutierrezperis.eu

ii)
iii)

Sciences Po Paris 2015

Programme is 231,408. When comparing the available data, one of the significant
developments is that the number of participants has increased on average annually
8% between 2002 and 2011.
Regarding the institutional developments, in 1995 a new separate department was
created within the European Commission for the area of Education and Culture.
2000 Lisbon Strategy

The Lisbon Strategy, also known as the Lisbon Agenda, was a set of economic and strategic
measures adopted by all member states for the period 2000-2010. The Agenda represented an
extremely ambitious roadmap. Ten years later it is best known for only modestly achieving its
colossal goal: that was, to transform the EU into the most competitive and dynamic knowledgebased economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs
and greater social cohesion (European Council, 2000, section The way forward).
Despite not fulfilling all the expectations, the ambitious objectives set by the Lisbon Strategy
opened completely new horizons. In the field of education for example, a political consensus
was reached assuming that further educational cooperation was the best possible way to pursue
the new economical goals.
In theory European Communities are still limited by the legal provisions of the Treaties in the
field of education. But in practice, the European Union has taken the political opportunity
created by the Lisbon Strategy - and the subsequent mandate given by the member states - to get
involved in the policy-making process regarding education in Europe.
Implementation
The increasing involvement of the EU in the field of education is organized through the socalled open method of coordination. This method describes a consensual way of management
for the fields where the member states retain their sovereignty but at the same time want to
promote some sort of convergence and coordination among them.
The method usually uses indicators and benchmarks for encouraging harmonisation between the
agents involved, at the same time as it provides a space for exchanging experiences and peer
review. Leaving aside the potential debate about the political efficiency of this system, in
practical terms it means that education remains a national competence. The open method of
coordination is a useful reminder of who holds, for the moment, the final decision-making
power.
The current educational strategy
Significantly, the document recalls that Education and training have made a substantial
contribution towards achieving the long-term goals of the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs
(ibid p.2). Is it relevant to note that the institution showing such strong support is the Council.
The strategic framework for 2010-2020 specifies four main objectives:
a) Making lifelong learning and mobility a reality
The vision behind this statement is that all cooperation at the European level should promote
and encourage citizens to take part in learning experiences throughout their entire lives. The
four biggest educational funding programmes that are currently implemented by the EU are
considered part of this objective: Comenius for schools, Erasmus for higher education,
Leonardo da Vinci for vocational education and training, and Grundtvig for adult education.
Other initiatives in this area include: to adapt each national qualifications framework to the
existing common European Qualifications Framework. The budget of the Lifelong Learning
2

European education and social cohesion: which way forward?

Conference of Europeanists
didacgp@gmail.com
www.gutierrezperis.eu

Sciences Po Paris 2015

programme is nearly 7 billion for the period between 2007 to 2013, which represents
approximately 0.71% of the total budget of the European Union for the same period: 975.777
(European Commission, 2013e).
b) Improving the quality and efficiency of education and training
The second main priority for the period 2010-2020 is to encourage member states to develop
their educational policies on the basis of a set of key competences that each citizen should be
able to acquire. Such competences are the first attempt by European Communities to reflect on
the objectives and purposes that should be attained through education.
communication in the mother tongue,()
communication in foreign languages, ()
mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology
()
digital competence involves the confident and critical use of information
society technology (IST) and thus basic skills in information and
communication technology (ICT);
learning to learn is related to learning, the ability to pursue and organise
one's own learning;
social and civic competences. Social competence refers to personal,
interpersonal and intercultural competence and all forms of behaviour that
equip individuals to participate in an effective and constructive way in social
and working life. Civic competence, and particularly knowledge of social and
political concepts and structures (democracy, justice, equality, citizenship and
civil rights), equips individuals to engage in active and democratic
participation;
sense of initiative and entrepreneurship is the ability to turn ideas into
action. It involves creativity, innovation and risk-taking, as well as the ability
to plan and manage projects in order to achieve objectives.
cultural awareness and expression, which involves appreciation of the
importance of the creative expression of ideas, experiences and emotions in a
range of media (music, performing arts, literature and the visual arts).
[emphasis mine]
(European Parliament and European Council, 2006).
c) Promoting equity, social cohesion and active citizenship
RESTRICTED TO SPECIAL NEEDS
The third objective under the current strategic framework for 2020 aims to promote all the skills
that increase the employability of citizens, as well as their ability to be active citizens and
participate in intercultural dialogue.
d) Enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship, at all levels of
education and training
Finally, the fourth objective is linked with the objective to consolidate the links between
education, research and innovation. The goal is to promote connections and partnerships
between the private world of enterprise and civil society through educational institutions.
These four objectives are the basis of the current educational policy at the European level. The
progresses regarding those objectives are regularly examined through indicators and European
benchmarks set by the European Commission. The specific list of indicators is set by the
European Commission. Among those indicators one is particularly illustrative of the role given
to lifelong learning. Indeed, it is specified that at least 15% of adults should be
participating in lifelong learning.

European education and social cohesion: which way forward?

Conference of Europeanists
didacgp@gmail.com
www.gutierrezperis.eu

Sciences Po Paris 2015

Compared to the level of cooperation that was taking place in the 1990s, the involvement of the
European Union in educational matters has increased exponentially. The budget that is allocated
to this field also illustrates this trend. For the most recent period of 2007-13, the budget for
education represents 1% of the total budget of the EU. In 1986 the budget for education
represented only 0.1%. In relative terms the increase is substantial (European Commission,
2013e).
In this first section I have examined the evolution of the European prerogatives in the area of
education. I have first clarified the historical background, pointing to the fundamental change
set in motion by the Lisbon Agenda in 2000. I have then presented the current priorities and the
objectives underpinning the current Strategic Framework for 2010-2020. The main argument
throughout the section is that the European Union has developed in the last 13 years a
significant range of actions regarding educational matters. Paradoxically, this tendency is
challenged by the current legal provisions of the European Union, which specifically establish
that education is the exclusive responsibility of each member state.
*
Second PART
All four objectives are considered a priority for the European Commission, but the accent is put
on the first one, especially on the notion of lifelong learning. Indeed, the promotion of
learning experiences for all ages is considered an essential approach in order to improve the
employability and competitiveness of European citizens. The concepts of employability,
comparability and mobility are central.
One way to interpret such strategy is to consider that the individual is placed at the centre of the
system, emphasising the role that each citizen can play in order to improve her own social
status. A way of transferring the demands that traditionally have been associated with the
Welfare State. In those circumstances, the new citizen is required to engage in a ceaseless work
of training and retraining, skilling and re-skilling, enhancement of credentials and preparation
for a life of incessant job seeking (ROSE).
On the other hand such policy can be also analysed as the coherent consequence of an
increasingly globalised Europe. The evolving socio-economical context is forcing a revaluation
of the adequacy of some of the traditional elements that structured the nation-state educational
model.
In the case of the European Union the question is to evaluate to what extent an educational
strategy based primarily on such a functional rationale can be sufficient to answer to the
current challenges and needs of European citizens.
Bringing together European societies
First problem, the lack of legitimacy and civic affiliation
Second problem, vagueness of identity, and European identity
Third, lack of demos
My approach to the notion of identity is from a constructivist point of view. I understand the
notion of identity as intrinsically fluid, ever-changing and multi-dimensional. The boundaries
of identity are often fuzzy and not always defined collectively. Moreover, the different
consequences of globalization (migration, mobility, economic interdependence) may
hinder/complicate even more the drawing of such boundaries (Ross, 2008). From this
4

European education and social cohesion: which way forward?

Conference of Europeanists
didacgp@gmail.com
www.gutierrezperis.eu

Sciences Po Paris 2015

perspective each individual will use a set of different identities, contingently on where they are,
whom they are with, and the particular social setting in which they find themselves (Hall,1996,
quoted in Ross 2008).
Problem: we cannot develop European educational markers
Europe is fuzzy, no longer historically unique and precise to perpetuate a
coherent, homogeneous collective. Europe cannot afford to develop its
discriminating particularisms and authentic markers. It derives its legitimacy
from universalistic principles and from the future it projects.
(Soysal).
The option of replicating national endeavours at the European level should be discarded. The
construction of European citizens will have to be done differently. New ways will need to be
imagined. And this might also well apply to educational strategies.
On one hand there is the theoretical struggle, even the impracticality, to agree on a common
definition of identity and European identity. But on the other hand the current deficit of
legitimacy at the core of the European Union calls for the reinforcement of some sort of mutual
citizenship recognition between Europeans. This is the current paradox of the process of
European integration.

European Citizenship Education

One initial precaution is that citizenship education remains extremely contingent on different
national contexts. Teachers and educational policy-makers usually have completely different
strategies. Wilkins et al (2010) compared a group of Turkish and English student teachers, and
despite their initial agreement on the importance of citizenship education, they showed how
each group of teachers placed a strong emphasis on different features.
DILEMMA:
From Hard measures of citizenship to evaluation, ranking and indicators.
DILEMMA:
There are skills, civic skills, that cannot be thaught.
civility and tolerance, and a shared sense of solidarity or loyalty (Kymlicka).
DILEMMA:
Active citizenship is enough? Overarching competence: learning to learn